#slight of hand

[mugloversonly]

Slight of Hand

Written for @steddieholidaydrabbles prompt: “Candy Cane” WC: 564 TW: Use of F slur. rated: G ao3

Summary: The little boy Eddie caught earlier wants to say thank you. His mom...not so much.

The six teens were unwinding in the lodge cafeteria for dinner when a haughty woman with a golden candy cane broach came up to them.

“My son wants to thank you for earlier.” She glared at Eddie, her nose scrunched up like she smelled something. A little boy popped out from behind her with a timid smile.

“Thanks for catching me. You were so cool!” He said and Steve got the pleasure of watching Eddie turn red.

“Oh, it was no biggie my lord.” He said with as deep of a bow as he could while sitting. The little boy giggled but the mother sneered.

“Darling go back to your father.” The woman said. The little boy thanked him again before doing as he was told. “Look, young man.” The woman said as she glared at Eddie. “He didn’t need your help, that’s why I paid the instructor. He doesn’t need to talk to strangers, especially not ones like you.”

As the lady talked, the teens at the table grew stiffer, but Steve noticed Eddie shrinking into himself a tiny bit. “Like me?” He asked with fake bravado. It would work on this lady, but his friends knew he was uncomfortable.

“Faggots.” She spit before she stormed away. Steve’s eyes narrowed. How dare she? He glanced at Eddie to see him glaring at the table.

“Forget her, Eds.” Steve said reassuringly. Eddie glanced at him briefly before his gaze darted to the woman.

“Eddie. I know that look, whatever you’re about to do...please be careful.” Nancy whispered. Steve took notice of his narrowed eyes, stiff shoulders, and still body. He was only that still when he was planning something.

“Eddie…” Steve warned but it was too late. He sprung off the bench and followed closely behind the woman. When she stopped rather abruptly, Eddie was there. He kept walking, causing her to trip and tumble to the ground.

“I’m so sorry!” He said loudly as he offered help her up but watched as she pulled herself back to her feet. “My mother told me to be extra careful around old women, and here I am. She’d be so disappointed in me.” He chuckled lightly as she dusted her skirt off.

“Freak.” The woman scoffed, flipped her hair, and stormed out.

Eddie made his way to the little cafe and bought a soda, just to keep up the illusion that he got up for an actual reason. When he returned, Nancy raised an eyebrow.

“That wasn’t as bad as I was thinking.” She said. Eddie just smiled and said he wanted to go back to the cabin.

“Why?” Robin asked. It was still pretty early.

“Or we can go a bar or something.” He shoved his hands in his pockets. Seeing no reason not to, everyone agreed. On their walk to the cabin, Steve slid next to him.

“Why’d you want to leave Eds? Did you think that lady was going to get that upset?” He asked. Eddie smiled maniacally.

“Nah, I just didn’t want to be around when she noticed.” He said cryptically.

“That this was missing.” He said. He pulled his hand out of his pocket to show off the little item. It was the golden candy cane broach. “Think this ugly thing is worth anything back home?”

Steve froze on the sidewalk and watched his boyfriend skip forward. God he loved him.

buy me a coffee

[noodlecankilljod]

have i ever posted my list of what circus specialties i think characters in the locked tomb would have?

no? okay yay!! now you get to see it

person | skill

gideon | sword swallower, strongman, stage combat

harrow | Silks, hand balancing

ianthe | contortionist, silks

corona | flyer in partner acro, flying trap

pal | diabolo, juggling, hand balancing

cam | acrobat, trampoline

babs | static trapeze

dulcie | hula hoops, sling

pro | clown, base in acro

jeanmarrie | rola bola, hoop diving

isaac | cyr wheel

abigail | Sling, Chinese pole

magnus | Stilt walking

column | Knife target

silas | Knife thrower

judith | german wheel, teeterboard

marta | rope, german wheel

crux | old Stage manager

ortus | Unicycle, slight of hand

aglamaine | fire swallower, animal tamer

Teacher | Stage manager (canaan house)

jod | stage manager (mithreum)

[iamnot-crazy]

Slight of Hands Chapter 3

Trafalgar Law x named reader

Summary: A woman snuck her way onto the polar tang by tricking Shachi and Penguin but Law is quick to realize her antics.

Law tries to forget about the woman but her image keeps plaguing his thought.

Chapter 1 Chapter 2

---

Law stared at the heart sitting on his desk with anger. He now has more questions for this mysterious woman who disappeared from his ship a week ago. She escaped the same way she boarded the ship by manipulating his closest crew members the two he considered his brothers which just fueled his anger.

As much as Law tried he could not get this woman out of his mind. She was clever and beautiful enough to manipulate her way through information that should be nearly impossible to achieve. She also seemingly had a team who was able to rescue her at the right time. But what racked Law's brain the most was why she was so interested in him.

There was one thing she was right about and that was that he didn't have it in him to actually crush the heart sitting in front of him. He had every reason to crush it and get rid of the woman who knew too much about him and may know even more.

He groans pushing himself away from his desk in frustration, his thoughts weren't getting him anywhere. He grabbed a cloak and his Kikoku before pushing his way onto the deck of the Polar Tang. On the deck, Shachi and Penguin were stuck on their cleaning duty as a punishment both stood in attention upon seeing their captain only to receive an eye-roll as Law jumped off the ship.

Law walked down the street of the small town they were visiting to collect supplies. He took a breath clearing my head with the fresh air as he looked down the street he noticed a woman staring at him from across the way. Odd looks were familiar to Law being a famous pirate but this was different she wasn't looking at him with fear or speculation but with confidence and determination. Law watched closely as the woman turned down an alley almost beckoning him to follow.

Law followed the woman carefully keeping all his senses aware in case of a potential attack. When he went down the alley the only thing he found was an envelope and the woman he spotted was gone. He bent down to grab the envelope that just had his name written on the back not just his name but his full name 'Traphaler D Water Law'. Law glared the only person who recently said his full name was Raven the woman who knows too much. He ripped the envelope open and a small piece of paper fell to the ground now free from its containment began moving slightly toward the sea. Law picked it up before it could go far. He turned it in his hand to find scratchy handwriting that said, "Just in case."

Law scoffed shoving the paper into his pocket and returning to his sub.

***

Weeks have now passed and the plaguing thoughts of Raven have begun to limit in Law's mind. Her heart and viver card now collecting dust sitting in the top drawer of his desk along with her heart. He thought about using the card to track her down and recapture her as his prisoner but he had a feeling she gave him the card for a reason.

As Law works at his desk the soft rhythm of the heartbeat keeps him focused. Up until this day, the beat has been steady rarely changing pace to the point Law has become blind to the sound. But the loud thump that shook his desk pulled him out of his work. He yanked the drawer open to see the heart's usual steady beat now beating like a drum. Underneath the heart sat the viver card that now had a slight burn on the edge of its page.

"Shit" he mumbled pulling the heart and card out of the drawer. The card pulled towards the island he was on and the heart. His thoughts began to swim with an internal debate. He shouldn't care if the woman who knows too much is close to death someone is doing the job he should have done. But for some reason, she trusted him with both her heart and viver card and this was probably why.

Law groaned as he grabbed his cloak and headed out of his office. Once on the deck, he began to question himself. The viver card just points in the direction the person is the woman can be islands over and him running around on this island could be a waste of time. If she was on this exact island what kind of twisted game was Faith playing on him.

"Shit." He mumbled again before jumping off his sub and onto the island. As he followed the direction of the card in his palm it became tighter to the direction signifying that she was close.

As he drew closer to the woman a laugh began to echo off the buildings, "Uhahahaha" Law froze at the familiar laugh. It was a very distinct and unique laugh from his past. One that belongs to Diamante.

Diamante is one of the top three officers of the Donquixote Pirates, the current occupant of the Diamond seat of the Donquixote Family, and the leader of the crew's Diamante Army subdivision. But in Law's past, he was the one who taught him how to sword fight.

"Did you honestly believe that Doffy wouldn't see through your plan?" Diamante jeered. "Your crew of Dressrosa traitors are finished!"

Law swiftly strode to the edge of the building and peered around to see Raven crawling on her hands and knees, desperately trying to escape from the towering figure of Diamante. Without hesitation, Diamante stomped on her back pinned her to the ground, and raised his sword high, poised to strike down on her back.

But as his sword flew down it was only met with the ground. Her figure seemingly disappeared. Law now running away from the scene with Raven safely in his arms. Raven looked up at him with a smile, "I knew you would come" before she passed out.

As soon as Law and Raven reached the submarine, Law used his powers to transport her to the operating room before urgently requesting a submerge. The Heart Pirates sprang into action, frantically preparing the submarine for an emergency escape. Shachi and Penguin, who had been following Law, were hot on his heels, eager to bombard him with questions about urgent submerge, but Law was too focused to pay attention to them. He ordered the sub to make as much distance from the island as quickly as possible, anxiously watching the horizon for any signs of pursuit. The sound of the submarine's engines filled the air.

After reaching a safe distance, Law headed toward the operating room. Shachi and Penguin were shocked when they saw what was inside. Raven was lying unconscious on the table, covered in blood and bruises. Diamante had the ability to take her out quickly and painlessly, but for some reason, he chose to play with her before doing so.

"What happened?"

"Why is she here?"

Law ignored their questions as he got to work patching the woman up. Luckily for her, there weren't any major injuries just a few stitches here and there that Law needed to tend to. When she wakes she will need some ice for her bruises but she will recover fine.

Law turned to his crew mates who were waiting for answers. He sighed wiping his hands, "Apparently she is from Dressrosa. Doflamingo wanted her dead and sent Diamante after her."

"Why did you save her?" Shachi asked pleading for answers.

Law's jaw snapped shut unable to answer that question that he had been asking himself. Why did he do it and why was she so certain that he would. By the way his body tenses, Shachi received his answer and pulled Penguin out of the room leaving Law to himself.

Law turned around and stared at the peaceful woman lying on the operating table no longer bleeding out but peacefully sleeping.

**

The next morning Law entered the operating room to redress the woman's bandage before turning to his duties for the day. As he tended to her wounds she began to stir with a groan reaching her arm up to cover her eyes from the overhead light.

"You're awake." His voice rumbles as he continues his work.

Raven's eyes dart around the room landing on the captain's silhouette above her, "well this is some deja vu." She groaned turning away from him.

"Glad to see your humor is intact." He tighten the bandage on her arm causing her to wince. He finishes wrapping up the bandage before moving to the sink wiping the blood off his hands.

Raven sat up investigating her wounds and whereabouts, "Thank you." She spoke softly. Law scoffed as he continued to clean up.

"Since you are now awake you can start answering my questions." He leaned on the counter while he dried his hands.

"I guess that's fair. Where would you like to start?" She threw her legs over the edge of the table.

"Why was Diamante trying to kill you?"

"Because I am trying to dethrone Doflamingo and free Dressrosa." She spoke causally.

"From what I've heard the people of Dressrosa love Doflamingo's rule why would you dethrone him?"

"The people of Dressrosa don't know the full story of how he took the throne."

"Which is?"

"He manipulated his way through of course, crafted a stage where he would be the hero and take out anyone who doubts him."

Law gave a knowing smirk.

"You know the scene you have seen it play out before. The people of Dressrosa are suffering and they don't even know it. When they learn about what he has done what he did they will want to overthrow him too!" Raven jumped up in passion but quickly regretted it as her knees buckled. Law instinctively flew over and caught her pulling her back to her feet.

She grabbed onto Law's chest, "Please you need to help me. Help me destroy him. You know him better than anyone you know how he thinks you can free Dressrosa from him."

Law helped her back to the table pulling away from her and shaking his head, "I am not much of a liberating type. What would freeing a country do to benefit me."

"Because Law you're a good person."

"And who told you that lie. If you can't tell I am a pirate! Hell, they call me the surgeon of death! That doesn't really sound like a good person now does it."

"Cora-san did."

The silence filled the room as Law starred daggers into the woman. His heart beat loudly as his thoughts began to swim begging for an answer. His teeth grinding as his body ran cold. "What?"

"He told me that you have a good heart." She pleaded with her eyes.

Law's nose began to twitch, "Cora-san is dead." He mumbled as if he didn't want to hear the words himself.

Raven grabbed Law's arm forcing him to look her in her eyes. As he stared into her eyes a story began to unfold and tears formed. "He is alive."

-------

A/N: teheh my short story has now turned into my own AU. Anyway thank you for reading if you want to read more of my work check out my masterlist and if you want to read the next chapter let me know.

[swindlefingrs]

Sterling's hands are so slight that she'll give you a high five and end up stealing your watch and your girl

[theindieinformer]

Every Indie From The March 2024 Xbox Partner Preview

We've got you covered if you missed today's Xbox Partner Preview. Here's every stunning indie from the show, complete with each trailer you need to see.

Xbox held its second-ever Partner Preview showcase today, featuring developers and publishers, big and small, from around the gaming industry. Not only did the event reveal the release date for the Xbox port of Final Fantasy XIV (March 21 for all of the Eorzea sickos out there like myself) and the roadmap for Persona 3 Reload’s DLC Season Pass, but the indie developers showed up big for Team…

[lizards-can-be-bookmarks]

Sometimes I wonder if Matthias and Kaz would have bonded over magic tricks. Matty always seemed so fascinated with the slight of hand kaz could do so i like to think kaz would have showed him a trick or two, of course not all of them, if they'd had more time

[mismatchedflipflops]

If a magician ever did this I would be one of three people in the theater that bust out laughing instead of gasping in horror then we would do the Spider-Man point thing at each other and become instant friends.

THEN and ONLY after that exchange I would ofc be reeled back in and be like "but are they ok fr though"

[geekcavepodcast]

Slight of Hand Trailer

RiffRaff Games announced Slight of Hand during Xbox Partner Preview 2024. The 3rd-person stealth-action deckbuilder game has your character infiltrating her old witch coven.

[lunarwednesday]

Happy birthday Kim Dokja! Thank you for your story.

the text is the poem "If I Can Stop One Heart from Breaking" by Emily Dickinson

[xaviergalatis]

[charcoaldustonmyfingers]

Leo would be an absolute nightmare in card games. Boy loves magic, messing with people, and winning games no matter how many enemies he makes in the process. God forbid he ever touch a monopoly board, the Hamatos would tear each other apart lol

My older brother loves card and board games a lot, and I thought with Leo’s bits of canon characterization he would like them too! My brother and I play Spirit Island and Gloomhaven whenever we can, and it’s super fun to raise the difficulty to insane levels and still manage to beat the odds with insanely lucky card plays right when it’s down to the wire. I bet Splinter played games with them as a good way for the turtles to learn teamwork and strategy!

Rip my Halloween candy though. I was never the best at games…

[crashdlanding]

Sunday Spotlight: Chris Ramsay

I attempted to start this weekly thing a few years ago and didn’t have the following to get it off the ground. I still don’t but here we go. But it’s not up and coming creators and artists it’s already established ones. Since the practically meteoric rise of the social media platform that sounds like a refreshing breath mint, I’ve noticed many of my favorite YouTube Creators have lost the views…

[crashdlanding2015]

Sunday Spotlight: Chris Ramsay

I attempted to start this weekly thing a few years ago and didn’t have the following to get it off the ground. I still don’t but here we go. But it’s not up and coming creators and artists it’s already established ones. Since the practically meteoric rise of the social media platform that sounds like a refreshing breath mint, I’ve noticed many of my favorite YouTube Creators have lost the views…

[dreamatduskk]

PARADOX 👁️

[lucabyte]

A belief in Nominative Determinsim